Our last week of no spend month - what's on the menu?

So we're winding toward the end of no spend month, and I have to say there were very few times that I actually felt like I wanted to spend money on something and "couldn't" because of our budget challenge. I think we're going to come out almost exactly on target, as I've purchased our groceries for the week and we have just a little wiggle room left. Here's the menu plan for this week:

Monday: Steaks, mashed potatoes and green salads
Tuesday: BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans and potato chips
Wednesday: Grilled chicken salads and smoothies
Thursday: Pork chops, baked potatoes and peas
Friday: Pulled pork tetrazzini and corn bread
Saturday: Pizza and breadsticks
Sunday: Mexican casserole and corn cake

How are we affording such a yummy meat filled menu? As I mentioned last week, we shop the "reduced for quick sale" section at our local IGA - they have a terrific meat case and if you know when to shop you can get a super deal. All of the pork from this week's menu is from a pork loin I bought when it went on sale for $1.69/lb - I'll slice some meat off to pan fry and the rest will become pulled pork in the slow cooker to be used in several other meals this week. Normally when pork loin goes on sale I'll buy two. I freeze one for later and generally freeze half of the pulled pork after I make it.

In addition, we'll be having cake, brownies, baked oatmeal, and carrot cranberry muffins. In order to help make sure we don't feel deprived (and to help clean out the cupboard!) we've been making more desserts than we usually do. Thank goodness for those extra calories I'm allowed since I'm nursing so often! :)

If you're looking for more menu planning inspiration, visit OrgJunkie. Come back next week for a summary of no spend month!

1 month old, almost 1 month late!

As my little big girl closes in on 2 months {{gasp}} I realized I never posted this 1 month photo of her with the bear I chose to document her growth. And always aiming to please, she threw in the first hint of a smile! Those that know me IRL are probably tired of hearing me say I'm amazed at how Sugar Plum can look so big and so little at the same time. This sleeper she's wearing is one of my favorites gifts that Sweetpea received when she was born (thanks, Julie!) and Sweetpea was able to wear it for at least 2 months...this was the last time I tried to stuff Sugar Plum into it, as her little legs were barely able to extend at this point. Yesterday at her 8 week checkup she was just shy of 12 pounds, more than 2lbs above where her big sister was at this early stage! I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I took this photo...does anyone else spend there days wondering how their babies got so big and seriously how it got to be nearly Thanksgiving when we just celebrated New Years?!

My few minutes of fame

I was asked to showcase some family health related items on a local morning news show today. Sugar Plum and I were there bright an early with a friend of mine that came along to help (Thanks, Jayme!). We had fun and amazingly my nerves weren't too bad. Tomorrow it's back to reality in a big way, as I head back to work for a few days before they close our facility November 1.